A record number of cruises are set to call at Gibraltar this year, representing an 11% increase on last year with an estimated 350,000 passengers from 227 visits. Some 18 cruise ships will make their first ever visits to Gibraltar with six of the brand new vessels selecting Gibraltar as part of their maiden season.

Bonds issued by Brazil's Petrobras ended one to two points higher on Monday as the beleaguered oil company eased refinancing pressure by clinching a US$10bn loan from China. The US$10bn loan from China Development Bank, which can be repaid in cash or oil, will do much to reduce refinancing risks for what is one of the world's most indebted companies.

Gibraltar Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Joseph Garcia, has written to the European Commission in order to set the record straight following ‘misinformation’ about Gibraltar propagated by a Spanish MEP. This comes after the Spanish MEP, Ramon Jauregui Atondo, tabled a question before the European Parliament in which he said that Gibraltar ‘facilitates tax evasion and financial crime’.

In an underdog win for a movie about an underdog profession, the newspaper drama “Spotlight” took the Oscar for the best picture at the 88th Academy Awards. Tom McCarthy’s film about The Boston Globe’s investigative reporting on sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests won over the favored frontier epic “The Revenant.”

Daniel A. Pollack, Special Master appointed to preside over settlement negotiations between the Republic of Argentina and its “Holdout” Bondholders, this morning (29 February) issued the following statement: